Emirates Business 24-7’s future in doubt

Dubai-based newspaper Emirates Business 24-7 may cease publication at the end of June, according to industry rumors and sources close to the title.

Although managers at the paper have told staff they don’t know what is happening, insiders say editorial staff are uncertain of their future.

Four members of staff have been asked to resign over the past month, and more resignations and redundancies are expected before the end of June.

From July 1, the future of the paper is unclear. Several scenarios have been circulated within the newspaper and outside. The title could close altogether; it could become an online publication only, either on a permanent basis or as part of a staged shutdown, or it could be relaunched with more of a lifestyle focus, possibly under new management.

Reporters have apparently been asked to shift the focus of their stories away from the pure business angle the paper has taken since it was relaunched in its present guise in December 2007. The paper initially launched as Emirates Today two years before. They have been asked to gear their stories to the website, and some staff have been receiving extra online training.

The newspaper’s editor-in-chief Riyad Mickdady did not respond to requests for comment.

The daily business title is published by Awraq publishing, a subsidiary of government-owned Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI). Until October last year, it was published by Arab Media Group (AMG).